


Count the Days

by IdrisTardis7878



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Downton Abbey AU, F/M, but i liked it enough to post here, he was the chauffeur and she the most rebellious daughter, i never finished this, not sure i ever will, pre-Captain Swan, quite likely will remain incomplete, they were supposed to be like sybil and tom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 23:01:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16880898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IdrisTardis7878/pseuds/IdrisTardis7878
Summary: Just a baby bit...the beginning of a likely permanently-unfinished CS Downton Abbey AU with Emma and Killian as a Sybil and Tom-esque couple. This is just the very first time they meet.





	Count the Days

_**Early Summer, 1913. England.** _

It was the most glorious sight he’d ever seen.

The sleek lines, the well-defined curves, the way the trim positively  _gleamed_  in the sunlight as the machine sat in front of the garage. The lustrous paint job – smooth and scratch-free – that only served to enhance the impression that the car was shimmering in the heady, late-afternoon warmth. It was, quite simply, gorgeous.

 _A 1911 Renault Landaulette,_ he thought to himself. _One of the finest automobiles in existence. Not quite as fast as some of the German touring cars, to be sure, but speedy enough and far more elegant to boot._

Killian could hardly believe it. An average laborer would have to save for ten years or more in order to afford such a vehicle – where he came from, no one made anywhere near enough money to even  _think_  about dreaming of such a luxury. But here, amid the nearly-overwhelming splendor of the estate, it looked perfectly at home.

He was lucky to be the one who would get to drive it on a regular basis, and he knew it. Yet, for all his admiration of it, there was something in the sheer  _excess_  of its existence that rankled him, nagging at his subconscious.  _You’d better get over that way of thinking right quick, boyo,_ he could hear Liam’s voice in his head as clearly as if his brother were there with him.  _You were the one who sought out this job, after all._

He wasn’t entirely sure how long he’d been standing there, mulling over his thoughts while gazing at the automobile and its lush surroundings, before the sound of footsteps behind him brought him out of his reverie.

“It’s quite something, isn’t it?” A tall, sandy-haired gentleman who, given his bearing and manner of dress, could have been none other than Lord Misthaven asked. His voice was full of pride as he came to a stop next to Killian, a light golden Labrador panting happily at his feet.

Killian turned to face him, inclining his head slightly in a deferential greeting. “Indeed, my lord. Quite.”

Lord Misthaven shifted from examining the automobile to look at him, inspecting Killian with an assessing gaze. Killian fought back the urge to fidget under the scrutiny, forcibly restraining himself from scratching behind his ear. “And Mr. Leroy tells me he’s hired you to be the new man who’ll have care of her – Jones, is that right?”

“Yes,” he can’t help but smile, his enthusiasm for his new post and the automobile entrusted to his care winning out over any of his other feelings, at least for the moment. “It’s an honor, my lord.”

The earl must have sensed the honesty of his fervor, for he smiled warmly before leaning in almost conspiratorially. “Just take care you don’t drive like you’re racing in a Grand Prix. Our last man, Herman, was always a bit too fond of going hard around sharp corners.”

“That sounds like poor form,” Killian murmured, “if I may speak freely, that is.”

Lord Misthaven nodded. “You may. In fact it seems that you already have. Do you make a habit of that, Jones?”

His warm tone took any censure out of his words, but Killian still hastened to reply. “I’m afraid so. Apologies, my lord.”

The earl waved him off, his easy smile still fixed firmly in place. “I didn’t say it was something that was discouraged at Misthaven. I think you’ll find us quite fair and open-minded about most things, Jones.” He reached down to pat the dog, who was waiting patiently at his heels, before straightening and bidding him a pleasant farewell and striding off in the direction of the manor. Killian watched him go, the Labrador trotting along beside him, and felt a good deal of his earlier inner conflict dissipate.

He was putting the past behind him – he  _had_  to – and for good or for ill Misthaven Manor, and all it entailed, was his future. But after his brief conversation with the earl, he was much more hopeful that the experience would be more good than ill.

 

* * *

 

Roughly a week after his encounter with Lord Misthaven, Killian was just finishing a diagnostic inspection on the estate’s other primary vehicle – an often balky 1909 Daimler – when a knock on the frame of the open garage door pulled him away from his work. He looked up to see one of the footmen from the main house – thankfully  _not_  the foul-tempered one whose face reminded him vaguely of a monkey – standing there, looking at him expectantly.

“What can I do for you, Will?” he asked, setting down the pan he’d been draining the Daimler’s oil into and searching the pockets of his overalls for a rag to clean his hands while he waited for the other man to speak.

“Got a message for you, don’t I?” Will stepped back towards the house even as he spoke, apparently not having much time to spare. “You’re to drive into Misthaven Village and meet the four o’clock train. The earl’s daughter is arriving home today.”

He glanced at the clock he kept on top of the work-bench at the back of the garage. “But it’s already three!” he exclaimed. “Why did no one tell me earlier?” he asked. But, message delivered, Will was already off again and either could no longer hear him or was pretending not to.

Killian finished scrubbing his hands – even though he’d be putting on gloves in a moment, he didn’t want to risk looking less than presentable – and quickly removed his coveralls, trading them for his livery jacket, cap, and gloves. He strode to the Renault and climbed into the driver’s seat. Taking a moment to double check that everything was in proper order, he set off at a reasonable pace towards Misthaven Village – Lord Misthaven’s caution from the previous week about avoiding Grand Prix style driving sounding in the back of his mind.

The journey was only a few miles, and he knew that he would likely arrive quite early, but it would be unconscionable to be late and keep the earl’s daughter waiting. There had been a great deal of chatter about her in the servant’s hall on and off since Killian had arrived at Misthaven, though Mr. Leroy always tried to stamp it out with a vengeance. Apparently, her ladyship had been visiting her cousins in the north for several weeks after an incident at a ball in London that no one on the downstairs staff seemed to actually know anything about. Several of the kitchen and chambermaids had gotten it into their heads that there was something scandalous about it, and had been gossiping like fiends at every chance they could steal.

He, for one, didn’t pay much mind to loose-tongued prattle – in his book, people rose or fell on their own merits, not what idle speculation attributed to them – but he  _was_  curious about the girl, he would admit, seeing as she was the only member of the family or staff he had not yet met.

The drive into the village was uneventful, and he parked the Renault and moved to wait for her on the platform. As he’d surmised, he was early – by a good twenty minutes – but he made arrangements with the station agent to hold her ladyship’s luggage until he could send the estate’s luggage cart back for it, and then he whiled away the rest of the time by finally getting a chance to read a letter from Liam he’d received that morning. As he was finishing it, the train’s whistle sounded in the near-distance and he rose to stand attentively as it pulled into the station, trusting that her ladyship would recognize his livery even if she did not know his face.

A few short moments later, the train had rumbled and wheezed to a stop alongside the station and began to disgorge its passengers. He scanned the people passing him as they streamed down the platform – though he hadn’t yet met the earl’s daughter or seen her photograph, he’d heard bits and pieces of actual description mixed in with the other servants’ talk over the past week and he felt that he had at least a basic idea of what she looked like.

He could  _not_  have been more wrong.

The train let out a particularly loud noise and expelled a larger than normal blast of steam that billowed across the platform, temporarily obscuring Killian’s view. When it began to clear, a young woman in smart traveling clothes was walking towards him. She was still surrounded by some of the tendrils of the steam, and the late afternoon sunlight caught her pale blonde hair in a way that seemed to make it glow like it had a light all its own. Her smile was wide and kind, and her eyes were a green that reminded him of the most vibrant pasture-grass of his home country. Beyond all of that, she also seemed to exude a brightness and a confidence that had him completely entranced.

It was in that moment that Killian became utterly certain of two things – first, her presence meant that his time working at Misthaven Manor would  _definitely_  hold more good than ill, and second, that he definitely needed to reevaluate his criteria for beauty.

For surely, there was no sight more glorious than Lady Emma Nolan – it simply was  _not_ possible.


End file.
